It's been nearly 2 months since I last wrote in the blog, so I figured I would give a good recap on how things have been going.
My training for this season began on November 29th, and since then I've trained around 80 hours between swimming, biking, running, and strength training. I've biked 610 miles, run 200 miles, and swam 23.5 miles. On top of that I have put in a solid 14 strength workouts. December was a little tough as I got back into a training rhythm, but once I hit January I seemed to find my stride. Most importantly, I do not feel tired at all. Thanks to my coach, I am doing the right type of workouts at the right time and not over doing it to early in the year. My fitness feels about as good as it's ever been....and it's only the end of January! That's pretty exciting stuff and I'm just chomping at the bit to get to race in some triathlons and duathlons.
I have been focusing a lot on my running and laying off the cycling and swimming a little. I did a few 5k's back in December and they were rough! The 5k distance is just a hard and painful distance to race. No time to relax and get into a rhythm, just all out and legs full of lactate. I ran about 19:30ish in both of them - not bad for no 5k specific prep and only a few weeks into the training year. My next test would be the Hogpen Hill Climb, but it was rescheduled for the 29th due to the winter storm we had. So I signed up for a half marathon in Warner Robins. Much to my surprise I ran a PR, 1:25:26, taking nearly a minute off my previous best. Details here:
Team Sport Factory - Museum of Aviation Half Marathon
Next up is the Tybee Half Marathon on the February 5th. This course is flat and fast so I'm hoping to bust a big PR at this one. After that I'll have my first test on the bike on February 19th at the Tundra Time Trial, out in Hiram GA at the Silver Comet Trail.
I also have been able to fit in two backpacking trips that served as some great cross training, and also helped to not make the daily grind of being a triathlete not so monotonous. To me this is one of the greatest advantages of being coached. If there's something I want to go do my coach can plan around it and make sure I still get the work done. Being self coached I usually would panic and try to do to much before and after to try and make up for lost time. It took me a while fully feel comfortable letting someone else take the reigns, but now that I am I think it's really going to pay off this year.
It's also been amazing being on the Sport Factory elite team. I've been taking advantage of the strength classes, grinds, and bike fittings that are afforded to me. A few years ago I would have given anything to be a part of a team like this and receive these kind of benefits, so I feel very fortunate and thankful for the opportunity and can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings for Team SF and myself! Such a great facility, coaches, and teammates!
